


Archery Practice

by firnae



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Fluff, Innuendo, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 04:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4507146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firnae/pseuds/firnae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He spun the arrow between his fingers, watching the sunlight glint off of the metal tip. Dorian may have his magic and his knowledge and his good looks, but this was what Taeriell was best at. No matter how obnoxious it was to show off, Taeriell could not help but relish the opportunity… and he had to redeem himself after missing the target."</p>
<p>Taeriell Lavellan tries to get in some archery practice, but becomes utterly distracted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Archery Practice

           The arrow hit the center of the target with a _thunk_ , and Taeriell Lavellan quickly reached back into his quiver for another. The setting sun cast long shadows over the training grounds, and the last rays of light glinted off the elf’s shaggy ginger fringe, obscuring his view.

           Taeriell pushed the hair out of his eyes and took the arrow, sliding it into place on the string of his bow. He lifted the bow, drawing his arm back and lining up his shot. Keeping the taut bow steady, he took a deep breath and let the arrow fly as he exhaled.

           "How impressive!" The voice broke Taeriell out of his concentration and he looked over to see Dorian leaning casually against a nearby tree, admiring the Inquisitor's shot. Taeriell glanced over at the target.

           He'd hit the bullseye, second arrow right next to the first.

           The elf nodded to himself in approval and grabbed another arrow to repeat the action. The training area was quiet and empty as he let the arrow go, watching as it buried itself just outside of the bullseye.

           "Shame," Dorian commented. Taeriell furrowed his brow and turned to the mage.

           "Is there a reason you're here, or did you just come to distract me?"

           Dorian smirked. "Ah, so my mere presence is distracting, is it?"

           "You're avoiding my question," Taeriell said, turning his attention back to his bow. The elf lifted the bow to take another shot, but paused midway. He let out an exasperated sigh.

           "Please tell me Josephine doesn't need me to look over another document. The last one took me three hours and I still did not understand half of it."

           Dorian casually pushed himself off of the tree and strolled over to where Taeriell was standing. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it. I just wanted to see what you were doing."

           Taeriell smiled slightly, filled with relief that his duties as Inquisitor weren't following his every turn.

           He drew the bow back up, fired... and missed the target completely.

            Taeriell scoffed in disbelief. The arrow had embedded itself into the grass to the right of the target. The last time he had missed an entire target was back when he was first given a bow. But today, it was all Dorian’s fault.

           The mage chuckled softly. "What was that you were saying about me being distracting?" Dorian leaned softly against Taeriell's back, slowly wrapping his arms around the rogue's waist.

           "Dorian..." Taeriell tried to sound annoyed, but could not hide the blush coloring his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

           "You should take a break," Dorian said.

           "I can't. Not all of us can just shoot lightning from our fingertips. Some of us need to practice."

           "Hmm… by the looks of it you need more than just practice." Dorian nudged Taeriell's ear with the tip of his nose, and the elf squirmed out of his embrace.

           “I was doing just fine until you showed up!” Taeriell retorted.

           "Okay, _fine_." Dorian said, and relented. He took a step back and watched as Taeriell fired another arrow. "You know, it doesn't look that hard."

           Taeriell looked at the mage and raised an eyebrow. "Well, if it's not that hard, would you like to give it a try?"

           "Oh no, I couldn't," Dorian said, slightly raising his hands in mock protest.

           "I'm serious," Taeriell said, extending his bow toward the Tevinter.

           " _Alright_."

           Dorian took the bow and arrow that Taeriell handed him, and stood for moment staring at the two objects, confusion growing on his face.

           Taeriell crossed his arms and smirked. "Need help?"

           "No," Dorian said, fumbling with the arrow, unsuccessfully attempting to place it on the bow's string. "Aha!" he exclaimed when the arrow finally found its right place on the bow. He brought the bow up, and attempted to pull back, as Taeriell had done.

           The elf tried to bite back a smile as Dorian failed to pull the string back far enough, causing the arrow to fall pitifully to the ground.

           Taeriell's smile broke free of his hold, and he shook his head, laughing softly.

           "Oh, laugh if you must. Magic is more effective anyway," Dorian said, not hiding the fact that he was truly disappointed that archery was much more difficult than it looked.

           Taeriell stepped forward to take the bow out of his hands. "You didn't hold it up high enough, and you need to pull back much farther. With arms like those, you’d think it would be easy for you.” He took the bow from Dorian. “Here, let me show you."

           Dorian simply raised an eyebrow as he watched Taeriell grab another arrow.

           "I’ve been using the bow almost all my life, so of course you’d think it looks easy." He spun the arrow between his fingers, watching the sunlight glint off of the metal tip. Dorian may have his magic and his knowledge and his good looks, but _this_ was what Taeriell was best at. No matter how obnoxious it was to show off, Taeriell could not help but relish the opportunity… and he had to redeem himself after missing the target.

           “You have to relax into it,” Taeriell began.

           Dorian snorted, failing to cover a laugh. “Didn’t I tell you that last night?”

           Taeriell could practically hear the cocky grin that was so surely plastered on the mage’s face. He simply rolled his eyes and continued.

            “If you’re too tense, you’ll miss your target,”

            Another snicker. The elf turned to Dorian with a disapproving and exasperated glare.

            “Alright, alright! I’ll stop,” Dorian said, but his grin refused to leave.

            The rogue rolled his shoulders back and pushed up the right sleeve of his tunic, getting the fabric out of the way so he could take his shot. “You have to become one with your bow, and your prey.”

           Taeriell lined the arrow up against the bow. " _Vir Assan_ ,” he said quietly. “The way of the arrow. "

           He lifted the bow up, pulling the string taut and felt the muscles in his right arm comply. " _Vir Bor'assan_. The way of the bow."

           Inhale. Exhale. The arrow released and cut through the air, finding its rightful place in the center of the target. Taeriell grinned. " _Vir Adahlen_. The way of the wood."

           Glancing over to Dorian, his grin was replaced by another look of exasperation. The mage was smirking, and Taeriell could practically see a thousand thoughts racing through his mind.

           Taeriell sighed. "Dorian, were you even paying attention?"

           "Oh, I definitely was, _Amatus_ ," he said, sauntering over and wrapping his arms around the elf's waist once again.

           Dorian placed a kiss on the rogue’s forehead and Taeriell felt a flutter of anticipation in the pit of his stomach. He dropped the bow to the ground and wrapped an arm around Dorian's neck, pulling in for a kiss.

           Taeriell lifted himself up onto his toes as their lips met and parted and met again, sun setting slowly behind them.

           " _Creators_ ," he muttered. "You are a horrible influence, _ma vhenan_."

           Dorian laughed softly, leaning his forehead against the elf's. "Oh, didn’t you know? Being a horrible influence is one of my specialties. Well, amongst my many other talents. And I do have _many_ talents."

           "Oh, I am well aware."

           Dorian smirked again "Are you, now?"

           “On second thought…” Taeriell began, running a hand down and fingering one of the straps crossing Dorian’s chest. “There may have been one or two I forgot.”

           “I’m hurt!” Dorian said. “How on earth could you forget anything about me?”

           The mage ran a hand slowly down the archer’s back, Taeriell closing his eyes in response and relishing the sensation.

           “Well,” Taeriell said breathlessly. “We’ll have to do something about that.”

           "That we will,” Dorian reply, as his hand continued traveling down the elf’s back, landing on his buttock with a slight squeeze. Taeriell bit back a groan as his back arched involuntarily.

           Eyes closed, their lips brushed slightly and Taeriell began to feel a bit light headed.

           “Did that jog your memory?” Dorian asked quietly.

            “J-just a little,” Taeriell stammered. “But the rest is still a bit foggy.”

            He pulled back to look at the mage, his olive green eyes locking with Dorian’s light grey, and gave him a devious smile.

           “Why don’t you remind me?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to peaceloveyoutubers for beta reading and suggesting that I add butts.


End file.
